Do You like book A Million Nightingales (2007)?
I labored through this but kept going. I found the writing style disjointed and had a hard time keeping track of characters. I just wanted more story with this. More background and personality of characters and less description of blood this and blood that, I got tired of the main character Moinette's constantly referring to people as animal, flesh, skin, bone.....I think a little of that goes a long way and we get the point. I would like to try another of her books because I would like to see how the dialogue differs from this one. Maybe one set in modern times. I will definitely give another book a try. Just wasn't crazy about this one.
—Lori
As the story begins, Moinette is a 14-year-old slave on a Louisiana plantation. She is "yellow" (i.e., of mixed race), and has always lived with only her mother in le quartier (slave quarters), but is one day moved into the main house to be the personal handmaiden and hairdresser to the owner's teenage daughter, Céphaline. When Céphaline succumbs to disease, Moinette is only a reminder to her parents of their loss, and without warning Moinette is uprooted from the only life she has known.Many nights I did not get enough sleep because, while reading in bed, I simply could not stop reading. There are many, many bite-sized sections within each chapter, each tantalizingly entreating, Oh, you know you have time to read just one more tiny, tiny piece! Look how small the next passage is! (repeat 53x) I appreciated the author's skill at storytelling in such a way that I was unable to guess what was going to happen next -- that I was even conscious of this made me aware of how even original plots are often somewhat transparent. A Million Nightingales is heartbreaking, but Moinette also has her triumphs, small and large.
—Julia
I read this book for both good and ridiculous reasons, but I am really glad that I did.Ridiculous: I recently read the third book in the trilogy Between Heaven and Here. I'm a completist, so I don't read books out of order and I read all of them.Good: I really enjoyed Between Heaven and Here and wanted to find out the stories that occur before and after. (The third book chronologically falls between the first and second books.)Ridiculous/Good: I discovered the GoodReads "most read" authors list feature and was embarrassed by 1) how few female authors were on the list, 2) how low they were in the rankings (first ones were tied for 22nd and that included J.K. Rowling), and 3) how high James Patterson was on the list (tied for 5th). So, I am working on getting some strong female representation in the top 10 (e.g. Margaret Atwood, Patricia Highsmith, and possibly Susan Straight).The not as good: I thought the ending of the story felt rushed and took a few too many dark turns: (view spoiler)[syphilitic rape and the pointless death of her son (hide spoiler)]
—Hans
